. >> middle carol -- miss carolyn was nonresponsive. and they were carrying out stacy. i didn't know if they were alive or not. >> reporter: both women died. for the type of fire, firefighter says it was unusually smoky. >> in most cases, it's the smoke that kill people, not the thermal heat. >> reporter: there was too much stuff piled up inside. they ended up going around back. >> when a home is full of belongings, whether it's clothing or parents or -- papers or old magazines, that material is fuel if there is a fire. >> reporter: the family is in the process of making the funeral arrangements. in essex, mike schuh, wjz eyewitness news. back to you on tv hill. >> reporter: the fire department says they could not find any smoke alarms in the home. >>> the local american red cross makes an emergency plea for blood donations. in recent weeks, the organization saw a significant decline in turnout of blood drives at donor centers. now, several blood types are at critical or emergency levels, making it difficult to prepare for potential emergencies. >> the red cross is aski